Friends

As they walked together to the library, almost all was silent. The servants that passed by did not dare make a sound and their footsteps were as quiet as they can be.

The only sound that could be heard was the tapping of Eyrie's heels. It felt nerve-racking and her palms were layered with sweat.

What should she say?

What should she do?

Does Fei prefer silence?

Eyrie often sneaked glances at Fei, and she noticed that the mutant who showed a stoic expression before now had a look of anticipation on her face as she looked forward.

This… Eyrie widened her eyes. A look of anticipation? She could tell that it wasn't directed at her, but something else. Eyrie followed her line of sight and found a hypothesis.

Was Fei interested in reading? Or, more specifically, accumulating knowledge?

But… This is different from how Fei behaved in her previous life, where she never showed an interest in learning unless it was something that a member of the Rochester family had suggested. She began to doubt this absurd hypothesis.

Well, certainly, mutants should be more 'human- like' than successes, so would that be it? Ss this a bad thing? No, it should be good because then Fei won't be easily manipulated.

As Eyrie quietly mused, the pair had slowly reached the entrance of the library.

Before they entered though, Fei abruptly turned around, causing Eyrie to almost bump into her.

"Miss Eyrie, is there anything you need from me?"

No matter how many times Fei thought it over, she couldn't think it through. Why did Eyrie approach her? Unable to restrain her curiosity, she finally asked the question.

"Eh?" Eyrie was completely caught off guard. Where did that question come from? She subconsciously opened her mouth to reply.

"I…"

But on second thought, there weren't any appropriate words to say, and her half-finished words were left hanging.

At last, she looked away from Fei's questioning gaze and finished her sentence, "I wish to become friends with you."

Eyrie couldn't meet her eyes.

She just couldn't. To her, this sentence felt like a lie, and as soon as those words left her mouth, there was a heavy mountain of guilt that weighed down on her.

She stared intently at the wooden design of the library entrance, waiting anxiously for Fei's reaction.

"Friends?" Fei didn't quite understand what this term meant. In every dictionary and novel that she has ever read, they all had different definitions for 'friends.' She examined Eyrie, trying to figure out what her definition of the term is.

Eyrie replied with an affirmative nod.

"What does 'friends' mean to you?"

Eyrie blinked.

... What does it mean? That's a good question. What makes a friend different from an acquaintance? How do people become friends? What does it mean to be friends?

Eyrie did not have any friends in this life, so she thought of the friends she made in her past life.

Now that she thought about it carefully, she found out that those friends she hung out with were just people that she talked with on a daily basis. It wasn't as if they were especially different from people that she didn't hang out with. They just spoke with each other more.

Eyrie from the past easily made friends, so for the most part, she didn't feel the significance of friendship that she always read about in her light novels. She had worries, but those worries weren't things that were appropriate to confide to those friends of hers.

There was only one person she could confide in. And that person was possibly the only one who fit the fantastical definition of 'friend.' Eyrie looked at Fei.

The old Fei was very straightforward and a good listener too. Perhaps it was because she didn't understand the significance of the Rochester family, Fei never fawned over Eyrie because of her status and never lied either.

She would patiently listen whenever Eyrie wanted to chat, never once interrupting or showing an uncomfortable expression. She never treated Eyrie differently either, no matter what Eyrie told her.

Though Fei might've been programmed to behave this way, Eyrie still felt grateful. But would the current Fei be the same as the old one?

"Miss Eyrie?" Fei asked, wondering if anything was wrong. There was only a minute left before she needed to arrive at the designated section of the library, and Eyrie hadn't answered her question yet.

Eyrie was pulled out of her thoughts, and she looked blankly at Fei. Then, she remembered the question that had been asked but was left unanswered.

How embarrassing!

Stopping for a second, Eyrie thought back to her original goal as well as her memories of her only friend before answering.

"Friends," she hesitated, "are people who can confide in each other, and… can trust that one will not ever hurt the other."